Rounding On Exactitudinal Sleights

Here’s precise wording around a financial amount I was recently privy to on a message group;

…they gave an exact figure like 1,813,459 to make it look properly thought out

Followed by a dismissive assessment of the reality of such accurate workings actually having taken place.

A note duly chimed with me. Early on I was always taught to be ’rounded’ with initial, rough prices. Then go minutely specific with eventual official quotes.

Chiefly because any number not ending with strings of zeroes holds the appearance of careful calculation and so less open to significant challenge.

The writer of the above line seems to have learned similar from their experience.

Which caused me to pause for a moment of reflection.

Is such a figure still truly more believable? Does such asymmetry and more jagged, less clean lines really make for a salesperson’s friend? Are corporate buyers ever frustrated at a potential bill ending in the equivalent of the retail tag of 99?

Well. if you’ve got your justification nailed on, then the answer must be to avoid the obvious looking round numbers.

Even b2b on-demand web services are seldom, say, a flat, straight million bucks a year dead on.

Any subsequent discount dance, spec swaps or quasi-contractual ‘errors & omissions’ may change the landscape anyway.

So why not politely click shut that perhaps ajar door. Offer up first pricing that demonstrates proper thought and effort has gone into your prospect’s precious solution. Don’t start off by using ‘simple’, ‘nice rounded’ numbers.